Not All Private Equity People Are Evil.

Evidence And Expertise Have A Well-known Liberal Bias.

On The Political As On The Economic Front It's Important Not To Fall Into The "not As Bad As" Trap. High Unemployment Isn't O.k. Just Because It Hasn't Hit 1933 Levels; Ominous Political Trends Shouldn’t Be Dismissed Just Because There’s No Hitler In Sight.

As An Economics Professor I Am By Nature Inclined To The View That The Truth Isn't Out There, It's In Here - That Usually You Learn A Lot More By Thinking Really Hard About The Data Than You Do By Sniffing Around For Supposedly Inside Information.

Congress Has Always Had A Soft Spot For "experts" Who Tell Members What They Want To Hear, Whether It's Supply-side Economists Declaring That Tax Cuts Increase Revenue Or Climate-change Skeptics Insisting That Global Warming Is A Myth.

I've Always Believed That A Speculative Bubble Need Not Lead To A Recession, As Long As Interest Rates Are Cut Quickly Enough To Stimulate Alternative Investments. But I Had To Face The Fact That Speculative Bubbles Usually Are Followed By Recessions. My Excuse Has Been That This Was Because The Policy Makers Moved Too Slowly - That Central Banks Were Typically Too Slow To Cut Interest Rates In The Face Of A Burst Bubble, Giving The Downturn Time To Build Up A Lot Of Momentum.